Product Description
Charles Hodge
(1797-1878)
Charles Hodge (Dec. 27,
1797 - June 19, 1878) theologian, and leader in the Presbyterian
Church, was born in Philadelphia, son of Dr. Hugh Hodge, a surgeon in
the Continental Army and later in Philadelphia, and Mary Blanchard.
Charles was educated at Princeton (Class of 1815) and went on to
attend the Princeton Theological Seminary (graduated 1819). His
training in theology, especially his instruction by Archibald
Alexander, was later to shape his thought and life's work. He became
an instructor at the seminary in 1820, and taught there all his life,
except for two years of study in France and Germany (1826-1828). His
subjects were Biblical and Oriental literature from 1822 to 1840,
after which date he concentrated on theology.
Hodge
was an extremely gifted teacher, able to arouse the minds of his
students with his tools of clear analytical statement, strong
certainty, solid learning, and knowledge of contemporary thought.
However, his personal religion and piety were more powerful tools of
instruction, as demonstrated by his famous Sunday afternoon
conference addresses. His theology was centrally Calvinism, as
purported by the Westminister divines, but also from other sources,
notably Turretin. His theology was always deeply Biblical, and he
held it unchanged, even in the face of disintegrating Calvinism (in
America), altering conceptions of the Bible, and the emerging force
of Darwinism. The theology he established at Princeton was a
powerfully conservative force, not only in the Presbyterian Church,
but also in other churches. He started in 1825 the publication that
would come to be known as the Biblical Repertory and Princeton
Review , which he edited for more than 40 years. In his essays
contributed to it, he defended vigorously the Princeton theology,
especially against that of Andover. His first book, A Commentary
on the Epistle of the Romans , brought him high repute. His other
works include The Constitutional History of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States of America , commentaries on other
Pauline epistles, The Way of Life , and finally his Systematic
Theology , which had extensive circulation. Posthumously appeared
Discussions in Church Polity , a book of much importance, and
Conference Papers .
He
held a commanding position in the Presbyterian Church through both
active participation and his articles in the Review . He was
moderator of the (Old School) General Assembly in 1846, as well as
being on both the missionary and education boards. In the church
schism of 1837, he supported division and argued against the New
School views. Although rigid in his views, he was also tender-hearted
and affectionate. In 1822, he married the great-grand-daughter of
Benjamin Franklin, Sarah Bache, daughter of Dr. William Bache and
Catharine Wistar. Two of their eight children, Archibald Alexander
and Caspar Wistar, became professor at Princeton Theological
Seminary. His first wife died in 1849, and in 1852 he married Mrs.
Mary (Hunter) Stockton.
Other Online Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Hodge
(Encyclopedia entry)
http://www.pcanet.org/history/documents/wip.html
(What is Presbyterianism)
http://www.dabar.org/Theology/Hodge/TableofContents/Content_Intro.htm
(Hodge’s Systematic Theology)
http://www.tracts.ukgo.com/charles_hodge.htm
http://libweb.princeton.edu/libraries/firestone/rbsc/aids/hodge.html
(Hodge’s Papers)